Supporting module and motion assistance apparatus including the same

ABSTRACT

A supporting module including a supporting frame including a proximal end and a distal end, a connecting plate connected with the distal end of the supporting frame, a sliding plate in contact with one face of the connecting plate, a supporting band connected to both ends of the connecting plate, and an elastic strip configured to connect the sliding plate and the connecting plate is disclosed.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims under 35 U.S.C. § 119 to Korean PatentApplication No. 10-2015-0162455, filed on Nov. 19, 2015, in the KoreanIntellectual Property Office, the entire contents of which areincorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND

1. Field

At least one example embodiment relates to a supporting module and/or amotion assistance apparatus including the supporting module.

2. Description of the Related Art

With the onset of rapidly aging societies, a number of people areexperiencing inconvenience and/or pain from joint problems. Thus, thereis a growing interest in motion assistance apparatuses enabling theelderly and/or patients having joint problems to walk with less effort.The motion assistance apparatuses may include active joint structuresincluding hydraulic systems and/or driving motors to drive each jointportion to improve muscular strength of legs of the users.

SUMMARY

Some example embodiments relate to a support.

In some example embodiments, the support includes a supporting framehaving a proximal end and a distal end; a connecting plate configured toconnect to the distal end of the supporting frame, the connecting platehaving a first end and a second end; a sliding plate configured tocontact a rear face of the connecting plate via an elastic force; asupporting band connected to the first end and the second end of theconnecting plate; and an elastic strip configured to generate theelastic force to connect the sliding plate and the rear face of theconnecting plate.

In some example embodiments, the supporting band includes a first bandincluding a first connector and a second connector, the first connectorand the second connector each having a first end and a second end with aflexible material therebetween, the first end of the first connectorconnected to the first end of the connecting plate and the first end ofthe second connector connected to the second end of the connectingplate; and a second band having an adjustable length and configured toconnect between the second end of the first connector and the second endof the second connector.

In some example embodiments, the first band and the connecting plate areconfigured to move relative to the sliding plate and the second bandwhen the supporting frame moves.

In some example embodiments, the elastic strip is configured to providea restoring force to draw the sliding plate toward the connecting platewhen the supporting frame moves.

In some example embodiments, the supporting band further includes firstrings each configured to connect the connecting plate to respective onesof the first connector and the second connector; and second rings eachconfigured to connect the respective ones of the first connector and thesecond connector to the second band.

In some example embodiments, the connecting plate has an acceptinggroove therein, the accepting groove configured to accept the distal endof the supporting frame.

In some example embodiments, the sliding plate has a guide groovetherein in a direction perpendicular to the supporting band, and theconnecting plate has a protrusion thereon, the protrusion configured toslide into the guide groove.

In some example embodiments, the support the elastic strip is configuredto pass through the connecting plate in a longitudinal direction of thesupporting band to connect the connecting plate and the sliding plate.

In some example embodiments, the support includes at least one shockabsorbing pad attached to an inner side face of one of the sliding plateand the supporting band.

Some other example embodiments also relate to a support.

In some example embodiments, the support includes a supporting frame; ajoint frame configured to detachably attach to the supporting frame, thejoint frame having an inner side face and an outer side face on oppositesides thereof; and a supporting band having a first end and a second endwith a flexible material therebetween, the first end of the supportingband connected to the inner side face of the joint frame, and the secondend of the supporting band configured to detachably attach to the outerside face of the joint frame.

In some example embodiments, the joint frame has a joint groove on theinner side face thereof such that the joint frame is configured toaccept an end portion of the supporting frame.

In some example embodiments, the joint frame includes at least onefixing rod on the outer side face thereof, and the supporting band hasat least one rod hole therein to accept respective ones of the at leastone fixing rod.

Some other example embodiments also relate to a support.

In some example embodiments, the support includes a supporting frame; asupporting band having a looped shape and including at least one shockabsorbing pad attached to an inner side face thereof; at least onemovable wire running on an outer side face of the supporting band in alongitudinal direction of the supporting band; and a connecting plateconnected to the at least one movable wire, the connecting plateconfigured to connect to the supporting frame.

In some example embodiments, the support includes a tube on the outerside face of the supporting band, the tube configured to receive the atleast one movable wire such that the at least one movable wire isconfigured to pass through and move within the tube.

In some example embodiments, the supporting band includes a slidingplate configured to contact with a rear face of the connecting plate,and wherein the connecting plate is configured to move on the slidingplate in at least one of upward, downward, leftward, and rightwarddirections.

In some example embodiments, the support includes an elastic bandconfigured to draw the sliding plate toward the connecting plate,wherein the connecting plate has a protrusion on the rear face thereof,and the sliding plate has an accepting groove on a front face thereof,the protrusion configured to slide into the accepting groove.

Some other example embodiments relate to a motion assistance apparatus.

In some example embodiments, the motion assistance apparatus includes afixing device attached to a user; a driver rotatably fixed to the fixingdevice; and a support configured to support a portion of a body of theuser, and to rotate in response to a driving force from the driver.

In some example embodiments, the support includes a supporting framehaving a proximal end and a distal end, the proximal end connected tothe driver, a supporting band connected to the distal end of thesupporting frame, a sliding plate connected to an inner circumferentialface of the supporting band via an elastic force, and an elastic stripconfigured to generate the elastic force to connect the sliding plateand the supporting band.

In some example embodiments, the supporting band includes a connectingplate having a front face and a rear face, the front face of theconnecting plate configured to connect to the distal end of thesupporting frame, and the rear face of the connecting plate configuredto connect to the sliding plate; and a first band including a firstconnector and a second connector, the first connector and the secondconnector each having a first end and a second end with a flexiblematerial therebetween, the first end of the first connector connected tothe first end of the connecting plate and the first end of the secondconnector connected to the second end of the connecting plate.

In some example embodiments, when the driver generates the drivingforce, the supporting frame is configured to move with respect to thesliding plate in a direction perpendicular to the supporting band.

In some example embodiments, the elastic strip is configured to passthrough the connecting plate in a longitudinal direction of thesupporting band to connect the connecting plate and the sliding plate,and the elastic strip is configured to provide a restoring force to drawthe sliding plate toward the connecting plate when the supporting framemoves.

Additional aspects of example embodiments will be set forth in part inthe description which follows and, in part, will be apparent from thedescription, or may be learned by practice of the disclosure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and/or other aspects will become apparent and more readilyappreciated from the following description of example embodiments, takenin conjunction with the accompanying drawings of which:

FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a motion assistance apparatus and asupporting module according to some example embodiments;

FIGS. 2A and 2B illustrate an example of a supporting module accordingto some example embodiments;

FIGS. 3 and 4 illustrate another example of a supporting moduleaccording to some example embodiments;

FIGS. 5A and 5B illustrates an example of an operation of a supportingmodule according to some example embodiments;

FIG. 6 illustrates still another example of a supporting moduleaccording to some example embodiments;

FIGS. 7A and 7B illustrate another example of an operation of asupporting module according to some example embodiments;

FIGS. 8A and 8B illustrate yet another example of a supporting moduleaccording to some example embodiments; and

FIGS. 9A through 10B illustrate still another example of an operation ofa supporting module according to some example embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Hereinafter, some example embodiments will be described in detail withreference to the accompanying drawings. Regarding the reference numeralsassigned to the elements in the drawings, it should be noted that thesame elements will be designated by the same reference numerals,wherever possible, even though they are shown in different drawings.Also, in the description of embodiments, detailed description ofwell-known related structures or functions will be omitted when it isdeemed that such description will cause ambiguous interpretation of thepresent disclosure.

It should be understood, however, that there is no intent to limit thisdisclosure to the particular example embodiments disclosed. On thecontrary, example embodiments are to cover all modifications,equivalents, and alternatives falling within the scope of the exampleembodiments. Like numbers refer to like elements throughout thedescription of the figures.

In addition, terms such as first, second, A, B, (a), (b), and the likemay be used herein to describe components. Each of these terminologiesis not used to define an essence, order or sequence of a correspondingcomponent but used merely to distinguish the corresponding componentfrom other component(s). It should be noted that if it is described inthe specification that one component is “connected”, “coupled”, or“joined” to another component, a third component may be “connected”,“coupled”, and “joined” between the first and second components,although the first component may be directly connected, coupled orjoined to the second component.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particularembodiments only and is not intended to be limiting. As used herein, thesingular forms “a,” “an,” and “the,” are intended to include the pluralforms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It willbe further understood that the terms “comprises,” “comprising,”“includes,” and/or “including,” when used herein, specify the presenceof stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/orcomponents, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or moreother features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components,and/or groups thereof.

It should also be noted that in some alternative implementations, thefunctions/acts noted may occur out of the order noted in the figures.For example, two figures shown in succession may in fact be executedsubstantially concurrently or may sometimes be executed in the reverseorder, depending upon the functionality/acts involved.

Example embodiments may be described with reference to acts and symbolicrepresentations of operations (e.g., in the form of flow charts, flowdiagrams, data flow diagrams, structure diagrams, block diagrams, etc.)that may be implemented in conjunction with units and/or devicesdiscussed in more detail below. Although discussed in a particularlymanner, a function or operation specified in a specific block may beperformed differently from the flow specified in a flowchart, flowdiagram, etc. For example, functions or operations illustrated as beingperformed serially in two consecutive blocks may actually be performedsimultaneously, or in some cases be performed in reverse order.

Units and/or devices according to one or more example embodiments may beimplemented using hardware, software, and/or a combination thereof. Forexample, hardware devices may be implemented using processing circuitrysuch as, but not limited to, a processor, Central Processing Unit (CPU),a controller, an arithmetic logic unit (ALU), a digital signalprocessor, a microcomputer, a field programmable gate array (FPGA), aSystem-on-Chip (SoC), a programmable logic unit, a microprocessor, orany other device capable of responding to and executing instructions ina defined manner.

Software may include a computer program, program code, instructions, orsome combination thereof, for independently or collectively instructingor configuring a hardware device to operate as desired. The computerprogram and/or program code may include program or computer-readableinstructions, software components, software modules, data files, datastructures, and/or the like, capable of being implemented by one or morehardware devices, such as one or more of the hardware devices mentionedabove. Examples of program code include both machine code produced by acompiler and higher level program code that is executed using aninterpreter.

For example, when a hardware device is a computer processing device(e.g., a processor, Central Processing Unit (CPU), a controller, anarithmetic logic unit (ALU), a digital signal processor, amicrocomputer, a microprocessor, etc.), the computer processing devicemay be configured to carry out program code by performing arithmetical,logical, and input/output operations, according to the program code.Once the program code is loaded into a computer processing device, thecomputer processing device may be programmed to perform the programcode, thereby transforming the computer processing device into a specialpurpose computer processing device. In a more specific example, when theprogram code is loaded into a processor, the processor becomesprogrammed to perform the program code and operations correspondingthereto, thereby transforming the processor into a special purposeprocessor.

Software and/or data may be embodied permanently or temporarily in anytype of machine, component, physical or virtual equipment, or computerstorage medium or device, capable of providing instructions or data to,or being interpreted by, a hardware device. The software also may bedistributed over network coupled computer systems so that the softwareis stored and executed in a distributed fashion. In particular, forexample, software and data may be stored by one or more computerreadable recording mediums, including the tangible or non-transitorycomputer-readable storage media discussed herein.

According to one or more example embodiments, computer processingdevices may be described as including various functional units thatperform various operations and/or functions to increase the clarity ofthe description. However, computer processing devices are not intendedto be limited to these functional units. For example, in one or moreexample embodiments, the various operations and/or functions of thefunctional units may be performed by other ones of the functional units.Further, the computer processing devices may perform the operationsand/or functions of the various functional units without sub-dividingthe operations and/or functions of the computer processing units intothese various functional units.

Units and/or devices according to one or more example embodiments mayalso include one or more storage devices. The one or more storagedevices may be tangible or non-transitory computer-readable storagemedia, such as random access memory (RAM), read only memory (ROM), apermanent mass storage device (such as a disk drive), solid state (e.g.,NAND flash) device, and/or any other like data storage mechanism capableof storing and recording data. The one or more storage devices may beconfigured to store computer programs, program code, instructions, orsome combination thereof, for one or more operating systems and/or forimplementing the example embodiments described herein. The computerprograms, program code, instructions, or some combination thereof, mayalso be loaded from a separate computer readable storage medium into theone or more storage devices and/or one or more computer processingdevices using a drive mechanism. Such separate computer readable storagemedium may include a Universal Serial Bus (USB) flash drive, a memorystick, a Blu-ray/DVD/CD-ROM drive, a memory card, and/or other likecomputer readable storage media. The computer programs, program code,instructions, or some combination thereof, may be loaded into the one ormore storage devices and/or the one or more computer processing devicesfrom a remote data storage device via a network interface, rather thanvia a local computer readable storage medium. Additionally, the computerprograms, program code, instructions, or some combination thereof, maybe loaded into the one or more storage devices and/or the one or moreprocessors from a remote computing system that is configured to transferand/or distribute the computer programs, program code, instructions, orsome combination thereof, over a network. The remote computing systemmay transfer and/or distribute the computer programs, program code,instructions, or some combination thereof, via a wired interface, an airinterface, and/or any other like medium.

The one or more hardware devices, the one or more storage devices,and/or the computer programs, program code, instructions, or somecombination thereof, may be specially designed and constructed for thepurposes of the example embodiments, or they may be known devices thatare altered and/or modified for the purposes of example embodiments.

A hardware device, such as a computer processing device, may run anoperating system (OS) and one or more software applications that run onthe OS. The computer processing device also may access, store,manipulate, process, and create data in response to execution of thesoftware. For simplicity, one or more example embodiments may beexemplified as one computer processing device; however, one skilled inthe art will appreciate that a hardware device may include multipleprocessing elements and multiple types of processing elements. Forexample, a hardware device may include multiple processors or aprocessor and a controller. In addition, other processing configurationsare possible, such as parallel processors.

Various example embodiments will now be described more fully withreference to the accompanying drawings in which some example embodimentsare shown. In the drawings, the thicknesses of layers and regions areexaggerated for clarity.

FIG. 1 illustrates a motion assistance apparatus and a supporting moduleaccording to some example embodiments.

Referring to FIG. 1, a motion assistance apparatus 1 may be worn by auser to assist a motion of the user. The user may be a human, an animal,or a robot. However, example embodiments are not limited thereto.Further, although FIG. 1 illustrates a case in which the motionassistance apparatus 1 assists a motion of a thigh of the user, themotion assistance apparatus 1 may also assist a motion of another partof an upper body, for example, a hand, an upper arm, and a lower arm ofthe user, or a motion of another part of a lower body, for example, afoot, and a calf of the user. The motion assistance apparatus 1 mayassist a motion of a part of the user. Hereinafter, a case in which themotion assistance apparatus 1 assists a motion of a thigh of a humanwill be described as an example.

The motion assistance apparatus 1 may include a fixing module 30, adriving module 40, a rotating joint 60, and a supporting module 100.Further, the motion assistance apparatus 1 may include a controller (notshown).

The fixing module 30 may be attached to the user, and configured tocover a portion of an external surface of the user. For example, thefixing module 30 may be attached to one side of a waist of the user, andinclude a curved surface corresponding to a contact portion of the user.

The driving module 40 may provide power to be transmitted to therotating joint 60. For example, the driving module 40 may be disposed ina lateral direction of the rotating joint 60, in detail, such that anaxis of rotation of the driving module 40 may be spaced apart from anaxis of rotation of the rotating joint 60. In this example, whencompared to a case in which the driving module 40 and the rotating joint60 share an axis of rotation, a height of a portion protruding from theuser may relatively decrease. The driving module 40 may be disposed tobe spaced apart from the rotating joint 60 much more than is illustratedin the drawings. In this example, a power transmitting module may beadditionally provided to transmit power from the driving module 40 tothe rotating joint 60. The power transmitting module may be a rotarybody such as, for example, a gear, or a longitudinal member such as, forexample, a wire, a cable, a string, a rubber band, a spring, a belt, anda chain.

The rotating joint 60 may rotate by receiving power from the drivingmodule 40. The rotating joint 60 may assist a motion of a joint portionof the user. The rotating joint 60 may be disposed on one side of thefixing module 30 at a position corresponding to the joint portion of theuser. For example, the rotating joint 60 may be disposed on one side ofa hip joint of the user. One side of the rotating joint 60 may beconnected to the driving module 40, and another side of the rotatingjoint 60 may be connected to the supporting module 100.

The supporting module 100 may support a part of the user, and assist amotion of the part of the user. The supporting module 100 configured torotate using rotation power of a joint assembly 46 may include a hingecombination structure combined with the rotating joint 60. In thisexample, by a hinge axis of the hinge connection structure and an axisof rotation of the rotating joint 60, the supporting module 100 mayperform a two degree of freedom (DOF) motion with respect to the fixingmodule 30.

The supporting module 100 may include a supporting frame 110, a slidingplate 120 and a supporting band 130.

The supporting frame 110 may transmit power to a part of the user. Oneend portion of the supporting frame 110 may be rotatably connected tothe rotating joint 60, and another end portion of the supporting frame110 may be connected to the supporting band 130 to transmit power to apart of the user. For example, the supporting frame 110 may push or pulla thigh of the user. The supporting frame 110 may extend and be bent ina longitudinal direction of the thigh of the user to cover at least aportion of the circumference of the thigh of the user. The supportingframe 110 may be provided in a shape of the thigh to be in close contactwith the thigh, thereby minimizing a degree of separation occurring inan operation.

The one end portion of the supporting frame 110 may be disposed on aside surface of the thigh of the user, and the other portion of thesupporting frame 110 may be disposed on a front surface of the thigh ofthe user. A surface on the side of the one end portion of the supportingframe 110 may be orthogonal to a surface on the side of the other endportion of the supporting frame 110. Through this, the supporting frame110 may transfer a driving force from an output end of the drivingmodule 40, for example, an actuator, to the thigh of the user as anormal force.

The supporting band 130 may be connected to the other end portion of thesupporting frame 110 to apply force to a portion of the user. Forexample, the supporting band 130 may be disposed along the front surfaceof the thigh of the user, or in a circumferential direction of the thighof the user to push or pull the thigh of the user. The supporting band130 may include a curved surface corresponding to the thigh of the user,and be configured to extend from the other end portion of the supportingframe 110 toward both sides of the supporting frame 110.

The controller (not shown) may include a memory and a processor.

The memory may be a non-volatile memory, a volatile memory, a hard disk,an optical disk, and a combination of two or more of the above-mentioneddevices. The memory may be a non-transitory computer readable medium.The non-transitory computer-readable media may also be a distributednetwork, so that the program instructions are stored and executed in adistributed fashion. The non-volatile memory may be a Read Only Memory(ROM), a Programmable Read Only Memory (PROM), an Erasable ProgrammableRead Only Memory (EPROM), or a flash memory. The volatile memory may bea Random Access Memory (RAM).

The processor may be implemented by at least one semiconductor chipdisposed on a printed circuit board. The processor may be an arithmeticlogic unit, a digital signal processor, a microcomputer, a fieldprogrammable array, a programmable logic unit, a microprocessor or anyother device capable of responding to and executing instructions in adefined manner.

The processor may be programmed with instructions that configure theprocessor into a special purpose computer to instruct the driving module40 to generate power and to transmit the generated power, via therotating joint 60, to the supporting module 100 to move the supportingframe 110 upward or downward, while the sliding plate 120 and thesupporting band 130 are in close contact with the body of the user.Thus, the supporting frame 110 may move upward or downward relative tothe sliding plate 120 and the supporting band 130.

FIGS. 2A and 2B illustrate the supporting module 100 in an assembledstate. FIG. 2A is a front side view of the supporting module 100 andFIG. 2B is a bottom view of the supporting module 100.

Referring to FIGS. 2A and 2B, the supporting frame 110 may spirallyextend downward from the driving module 40 to the supporting band 130.

The supporting band 130 may include a connecting plate 131 connected tothe supporting frame 110. The supporting band 130 may further includetwo first rings 132 configured to connect the connecting plate 131 andrespective connectors 133 that are each attached to different sides of asecond band 135.

The connecting plate 131 may move in connection with the supportingframe 110. The connecting plate 131 may be connected with the slidingplate 120. Irrespective of whether the supporting frame 110 moves, arear face of the connecting plate 131 may be maintained to be in surfacecontact with a front face of the sliding plate 120.

Both ends of the connecting plate 131 may be connected with twoconnectors 133 formed with a flexible material. A second band 135 ofwhich a length is adjustable may connect the two connectors 133. Thesecond band 135 may cover a rear portion of a thigh of a user and liftthe thigh through the driving module 40.

An inner side face of the second band 135 and a rear face of the slidingplate 120 may be in close contact with the thigh of the user. Thus, ashock absorbing pad may be attached to the inner side face of the secondband 135 and to the rear face of the sliding plate 120, therebyproviding an increased comfort to the user.

FIGS. 3 and 4 are exploded perspective views of the supporting modules100. FIG. 3 illustrates an example of the supporting module 100 viewedat the front of the supporting module 100. FIG. 4 illustrates an exampleof the supporting module viewed at the rear of the supporting module100.

Referring to FIGS. 3 and 4, the supporting module 100 may include thesupporting frame 110, the sliding plate 120 and the supporting band 130.

The supporting frame 110 may have a front end portion 111 and a distalend 112. An outer circumferential face of the supporting band 130 may beconnected to the distal end 112 of the supporting frame 110. The slidingplate 120 may be connected to an inner circumferential face of thesupporting band 130 via an elastic strip 138 configured to connect thesliding plate 120 and the supporting band 130. The sliding plate 120 maybe configured to move relative to the supporting band 130.

The supporting frame 110 and the supporting band 130 may be connectedthrough a plane joint corresponding to a connection scheme of thesliding plate 120 and the connecting plate 131. The plane joint mayminimize a protruding length of the supporting band 130, thereby forminga structure having a size wearable in clothes of the user.

The supporting band 130 may be configured in a form of loop. The distalend 112 of the supporting frame 110 may be connected to the outercircumferential face of the supporting band 130. The sliding plate 120may be connected to an inner face side of a portion of the supportingband 130 by the elastic strip 138. In this example, the portion of thesupporting band 130 may be connected to the supporting frame 110.

The supporting band 130 may include the connecting plate 131, the firstrings 132, the connectors 133, second rings 134, and the second band135.

The connecting plate 131 may have a front face connected to the distalend 112 of the supporting frame 110 and a rear face connected to thesliding plate 120. The second band 135 may have an adjustable length andbe connected to both ends of a first band.

The connector 133 may include a fabric band 1331 formed with an elasticmaterial and a connector wire 1332 fixed to the fabric band 1331 alongan outer border of the fabric band 1331. The fabric band 1331 and theconnector wire 1332 may have elasticity and thus, be bent by an externalforce.

The connecting plate 131 may include a first end and a second end eachconnected to a respective one of the connectors 133 that are formed witha flexible material. For example, the first end and the second end ofthe connecting plate 131 may be connected respective ones of the firstrings 132, and each of the first rings 132 may be connected torespective a first end of respective ones of the flexible connectors133. A second end of each of the flexible connectors 133 may beconnected, via a respective second ring 134, to the second band 135.

For example, one end of the connector wire 1332 may be connected to arear end of the first ring 132, and the other end of the connector wire1332 may be connected to a head end of the second ring 134. The frontend of the second ring 134 may include a slot and thus, the connectorwire 1332 may pass through the slot.

Based on the connecting plate 131, the two first rings 132 may besymmetrical to each other, the two second rings 134 may be symmetricalto each other, and the two connectors 133 may be symmetrical to eachother.

The second band 135 may include a proximal end and a distal end. Theproximal end of the second band 135 may include a band ring 1352 to beconnected to the first band. The tail portion of the second band 135 mayinclude a length adjuster 1351 including a hook and loop fastenerconfigured to be folded at a central portion of the distal end.

Two slots may be longitudinally formed at a tail end of the second rings134 to insert the band ring 1352 or the length adjuster 1351. Forexample, a tail end of a first one of the second rings 134 may beconnected with the band ring 1352 of the second band 135, and a tail endof a second one of the second rings 134 may have the length adjuster1351 of the second band 135 pass therethrough. The length adjuster 1351may pass through an outer slot of two slots of the second rings 134toward a center of the supporting band 130, and pass through an innerslot of the two slots at the tail ends of the second rings 134 in adirection separating from the center of the supporting band 130.

The connecting plate 131 may include an accepting groove configured toaccept the distal end 112 of the supporting frame 110. The acceptinggroove may be formed in a shape corresponding to the distal end 112 ofthe supporting frame 110 to firmly accept the distal end 112 of thesupporting frame 110 and prevent separation of the distal end 112.

A front face of the connecting plate 131 may be connected with a cover136. A rear face of the connecting plate 131 may be connected with thesliding plate 120 by the elastic strip 138. The elastic strip 138 mayconnect the sliding plate 120 to the connecting plate 131 in a tensedstate and thus, a tensile force may be exerted between the sliding plate120 and the connecting plate 131.

The sliding plate 120 may include a guide groove 121 in a directionperpendicular to the supporting band 130 and strip slots 122 may beformed on both sides of the sliding plate 120 to fix the elastic strip138. The connecting plate 131 may include a protrusion insertable in theguide groove 121. The guide groove 121 may assist the connecting plate131 to translationally move on a surface of the sliding plate 120 in adirection perpendicular to a longitudinal direction of the supportingband 130 in lieu of moving in the longitudinal direction of thesupporting band 130.

At least one shock absorbing pad may be attached to an inner side faceof the sliding plate 120 or an inner side face of the supporting band130 to increase a frictional force and reduce a shock applied to aninner side.

FIGS. 5A and 5B are perspective views illustrating an example of thesupporting module 100. FIGS. 5A and 5B illustrate a case in which a useris wearing the supporting modules 100, and an inner circumferential faceof the supporting band 130 may be in contact with a thigh of the user.

Referring to FIGS. 5A and 5B, the first band may move the supportingframe 110 relative to the sliding plate 120 and the second band 135. Inresponse to a movement of the supporting frame 110, the elastic strip138 may provide a restoring force to prevent the sliding plate 120separating from the connecting plate 131.

Strip slots 122 may be formed on both sides of the sliding plate 120 tofix the elastic strip 138. When the elastic strip 138 passes through theconnecting plate 131 and the strip slots 122 of the sliding plate 120 ina longitudinal direction of the supporting band 130, the elastic strip138 may connect the connecting plate 131 and the sliding plate 120.

FIG. 5A illustrates an example in which the supporting frame 110 pullsthe connecting plate 131 upward relative to the sliding plate 120 basedon various motions of a user. When the connecting plate 131 is pulledupward, a frictional force may be exerted on the sliding plate 120 andthe second band 135 with respect to the thigh and thus, may not bepulled upward dissimilarly to the connecting plate 131.

The elastic strip 138 may extend by a distance to which the connectingplate 131 separates from the sliding plate 120 and thus, exert arestoring force to relocate the connecting plate 131 to an originalposition. The elastic strip 138 may be formed in a shape of, forexample, a parallelogram while moving upward.

Also, the connector wire 1332 of the connector 133 may also be formed ina shape of, for example, the parallelogram while moving upward. Theconnector wire 1332 may have elasticity. Thus, the connector wire 1332may exert the restoring force on the connecting frame 131 by a length towhich a diagonal of the parallelogram is elongated at a level length ina longitudinal direction of the supporting band 130.

FIG. 5B illustrates an example in which the supporting frame 110 pushesthe connecting plate 131 downward relative to the sliding plate 120based on various motions of a user. In this example, the elastic strip138 and the connector wire 1332 may extend to be in the shape of theparallelogram, and exert the restoring force in an upward directionrelative to the connecting plate 131.

When the supporting module 100 is applied to the motion assistanceapparatus 1, a compensation for a change in length resulting from, forexample, walking and various motions may be allowed. The connectingplate 131 may be provided in a form of passive joint configured to moverelative to the sliding plate 120. Thus, when various motions, forexample, an adduction motion, and walking including a sitting downmotion, a standing up motion, a stepping up motion, and a stepping downmotion, are performed, a position of the supporting band 130 may changewhile minimizing an inconvenience and a resistance which the user mayexperience in response to the change in the position.

FIG. 6 is a perspective diagram illustrating a supporting moduleaccording to other example embodiments.

Referring to FIG. 6, a supporting module 200 may include a supportingframe 205, a joint frame 210 attachable to and detachable from thesupporting frame 205, and a supporting band 220 formed with a flexiblematerial.

One end of the supporting band 220 may be connected with an inner sideface of the joint frame 210 and the other end of the supporting band 220may extend from the one end in a lateral direction to be attached to anddetached from an outer side face of the joint frame 210.

The joint frame 210 may extend in a lateral direction, and then spirallytwist and extend in a longitudinal direction. The joint frame 210 mayhave the same form as a lower end portion of the supporting frame 110 ofthe supporting module 100 discussed supra with regards to FIGS. 1 to 5B.The supporting band 220 may be connected with a portion between a middleportion and a lower end portion of an inner side face of the joint frame210 using an adhesive or a hook and fastener.

A portion of the joint frame 210 may extend upward, and a length of thesupporting frame 205 may be adjusted based on the extended portion ofthe joint frame 210. Thus, the supporting frame 205 of the supportingmodule 200 may be formed to be shorter than the supporting frame 110 ofthe supporting modules 100.

The supporting band 220 may spirally extend downward from the middleportion of the joint frame 210 to the lower end portion of the jointframe 210. When the supporting band 220 extends to a lowermost endportion of the joint frame 210, the supporting band 220 may extend inthe lateral direction. The supporting band 220 may extend to have asufficient length corresponding to various circumferences of a thigh ofa user.

The joint frame 210 may include a joint groove 213 formed on the innerside face of the joint frame 210 to accept an end portion of thesupporting frame 205. The joint frame 210 may also include at least onefixing rod 214 formed on an outer side face of the joint frame 210. Ajoint guide 211 may be formed at an upper end of the joint frame 210such that the joint frame 210 is readily attached to and detached fromthe supporting frame 205. A loop and fastener 215 may be attachedbetween the fixing rods 214 of the joint frame 210 to fix the other endof the supporting band 220.

The supporting band 220 may include at least one rod hole 222 formed onthe inner side face of the supporting band 220 to accept the fixing rod214. A nonwoven fabric 223 may be attached to the inner side face of theother end of the supporting band 220 to be attached to the hook andfastener 215. The supporting module 200 is provided in a simplestructure including overall two parts and thus, a user may easily wearand remove the supporting module 200 with one hand.

A close-contact plate 221 may be attached to the outer side face of thesupporting band 220 disposed adjacent to the lower end portion of thejoint frame 210. The close-contact plate 221 may be formed with anitinol material or a carbon steel material. The nitinol material andthe carbon steel material may be shape memory alloy materials. Thus, thenitinol material or the carbon steel material may allow the supportingband 220 to have a restoring force such that the supporting band 220 isrestored to be in an original shape from a tensed state. Theclose-contact plate 221 may be additionally attached to a portionadjacent to the nonwoven fabric 223.

FIGS. 7A and 7B illustrate an example of an operation of the supportingmodule 200. FIG. 7A illustrates an example in which the supporting frame205 is pulled upward. FIG. 7B illustrates an example in which a force isapplied to the supporting frame 205 to be pushed downward.

Referring to FIGS. 7A and 7B, the supporting band 220 may be formed withan elastic material, and the joint frame 210 may be formed with a hardmaterial.

In response to the supporting frame 205 pulled upward as illustrated inFIG. 7A, a portion of the supporting band 220 connected with the jointframe 210 may also be pulled upward. Conversely, in response to thesupporting frame 205 pushed downward as illustrated in FIG. 7B, aportion of the supporting band 220 connected with the joint frame 210may also be pushed downward.

A portion of the supporting band 220 disposed on an opposite side of theportion connected with the joint frame 210 may not move upward ordownward due to a frictional force with respect to a thigh of a user.The supporting band 220 may have elasticity. Thus, when a force isapplied to the supporting frame 205, the portion of the supporting band220 connected with the joint frame 210 may be elongated to allow thesupporting frame 205 to easily perform translational movement.

A portion including the close-contact plate 221 formed with a metalmaterial on the supporting band 220 may not be tensed. Thus, the portionof the supporting band 220 connected with the joint frame 210 may betensed in a shape of parallelogram and move in a vertical direction whenthe supporting frame 205 moves upward or downward.

FIGS. 8A and 8B illustrate a supporting module according to otherexample embodiments.

Referring to FIGS. 8A and 8B, in the example embodiments discussed abovewith regard to FIGS. 1-5B, the supporting modules 100 may include thesupporting band 130 configured as one layer. In contrast, in otherexample embodiments, a supporting module 300 may include a supportingband 320 on which a movable wire 332 is disposed and thus, be configuredwith two layers 330.

The supporting module 300 may include the supporting band 320 formed ina loop shape and having an inner side face on which a shock absorbingpad 322 is attached. The supporting module 300 may further include themovable wire 332 movably fixed on an outer side face of the supportingband 320 and configured to cover the supporting band 320 in alongitudinal direction of the supporting band 320, and a connectingplate 340 connected to the movable wire 332. In this example, thesupporting frame 310 may be fixed to the connecting plate 340.

When the supporting band 320 is attached to a thigh of a user, thesupporting band 320 may not move in a vertical direction until thesupporting band 320 is detached from the thigh. Thus, the shockabsorbing pad 322 may need to be provided to an inner side of thesupporting band 320. The shock absorbing pad 322 may increase africtional force between the supporting band 320 and the thigh of theuser such that the supporting band 320 is firmly attached to the thigh.Also, the shock absorbing pad 322 may minimize a rubbed degree toincrease a comfort of the user.

In some example embodiments, to fix the movable wire 332 to thesupporting band 320, a tube 331 may be fixed on the outer side face ofthe supporting band 320. A portion of the movable wire 332 may passthough the tube 331 and move in the tube 331. The tube 331 and themovable wire 332 may be disposed on the outer side face of thesupporting band 320 in a form of two columns. On an inner side face ofthe tube 331, lubricant may be applied to reduce a friction with themovable wire 332.

In other example embodiments, the movable wire 332 may pass through thesupporting band 320 in proximity to the portion on which the connectingplate 340 is disposed such that the movable wire 332 may be fixed to thesupporting band 320 without need to use the tube 331.

In an example, the wire 332 may be formed with an inflexible and hardmaterial. For example, a Dyneema wire applied to bulletproof productsmay be used as the movable wire 332. Since the movable wire 332 isinflexible, the movable wire 332 may be set to be longer than thesupporting band 320.

A wire connector 350 may be disposed between an end of the movable wire332 and the connecting plate 340 to fix the movable wire 332. Themovable wire 332 may pass through the wire connector 350 in a directionperpendicular to the supporting band 320.

A sliding plate 323 may be disposed on a central portion of thesupporting band 320 to be in contact with a rear face of the connectingplate 340. The connecting plate 340 may move on the sliding plate 323 inat least one of upward, downward, leftward, and rightward directions. Inthis example, the connecting plate 340 may move relative to the slidingplate 323.

The connecting plate 340 and the sliding plate 323 may be connected toeach other by an elastic band 360. Based on an elastic force of theelastic band 360, the rear face of the connecting plate 340 and a frontface of the sliding plate 323 may be in close contact with each other.

The connecting plate 340 may include a protrusion 341 disposed on therear face of the connecting plate 340. The sliding plate 323 may includean accepting groove formed on the front face of the sliding plate 323.The protrusion 341 may be in contact with the accepting groove of thesliding plate 323. The accepting groove of the sliding plate 323 mayfunction as, for example, a guide to restrict a moving range of theconnecting plate 340.

FIGS. 9A through 10B illustrate an example of an operation of thesupporting module 300. FIG. 9A illustrates an example in which thesupporting frame 310 is pulled upward. FIG. 9B illustrates an example inwhich the supporting frame 310 is pushed downward. FIG. 10A illustratesan example in which the supporting frame 310 moves rightward. FIG. 10Billustrates an example in which the supporting frame 310 moves leftward.

FIGS. 9A and 9B illustrate an example in which the supporting frame 310and the connecting plate 340 move in response to a motion of a userlifting or lowering a leg in a forward or backward direction, or amotion of a user spreading or bringing legs together.

The elastic band 360 may continually apply a force to maintain a closecontact between the connecting plate 340 and the sliding plate 323 andthus, the connecting plate 340 and the sliding plate 323 may not move ina direction of separating from each other. Through this, despite theconnecting plate 340 moving on the sliding plate 323, a portion of therear face of the connecting plate 340 may be consistently in contactwith the front face of the sliding plate 323.

Also, when the connecting plate 340 moves on the sliding plate 323, theelastic band 360 may apply a restoring force in a direction opposite toa moving direction. After the motion of the user, the restoring forcemay be applied to rearrange the connecting plate 340 on the slidingplate 323 to be in an original state.

Referring to FIGS. 9A and 9B, the wire 332 may be changed into a form ofparallelogram in response to the connecting plate 340 moving upward ordownward. A distance increasing when the wire 332 arranged in a lateraldirection is rearranged in a diagonal direction may be shorter than adistance obtained by subtracting a length of the supporting band 320from an entire length of the wire 332. Thus, the connecting plate 340may not move upward or downward in the range of the entire length of thewire 332.

FIGS. 10A and 10B illustrate an example in which the supporting frame310 and the connecting plate 340 move in response to a motion of a usertwisting a leg. As an example, when the user is wearing the supportingmodule 300 on a right leg, FIG. 10A corresponds to a motion of outwardlytwisting the right leg and FIG. 10B corresponds to a motion of inwardlytwisting the right leg.

In FIG. 10A, the connecting plate 340 may translationally move from aright side to a left side on the sliding plate 323. In FIG. 10B, theconnecting plate 340 may translationally move from the left side to theright side on the sliding plate 323. In this example, the wire 332 maymove in the tube 331 in a longitudinal direction of the wire 332.

When circumstances corresponding to FIGS. 9A through 10B occursimultaneously, the connecting plate 340 may translationally move on thesliding plate 323 in the diagonal direction.

The units and/or modules described herein may be implemented usinghardware components and software components. For example, the hardwarecomponents may include microphones, amplifiers, band-pass filters, audioto digital convertors, and processing devices. A processing device maybe implemented using one or more hardware device configured to carry outand/or execute program code by performing arithmetical, logical, andinput/output operations. The processing device(s) may include aprocessor, a controller and an arithmetic logic unit, a digital signalprocessor, a microcomputer, a field programmable array, a programmablelogic unit, a microprocessor or any other device capable of respondingto and executing instructions in a defined manner. The processing devicemay run an operating system (OS) and one or more software applicationsthat run on the OS. The processing device also may access, store,manipulate, process, and create data in response to execution of thesoftware. For purpose of simplicity, the description of a processingdevice is used as singular; however, one skilled in the art willappreciate that a processing device may include multiple processingelements and multiple types of processing elements. For example, aprocessing device may include multiple processors or a processor and acontroller. In addition, different processing configurations arepossible, such a parallel processors.

The software may include a computer program, a piece of code, aninstruction, or some combination thereof, to independently orcollectively instruct and/or configure the processing device to operateas desired, thereby transforming the processing device into a specialpurpose processor. Software and data may be embodied permanently ortemporarily in any type of machine, component, physical or virtualequipment, computer storage medium or device, or in a propagated signalwave capable of providing instructions or data to or being interpretedby the processing device. The software also may be distributed overnetwork coupled computer systems so that the software is stored andexecuted in a distributed fashion. The software and data may be storedby one or more non-transitory computer readable recording mediums.

The methods according to the above-described example embodiments may berecorded in non-transitory computer-readable media including programinstructions to implement various operations of the above-describedexample embodiments. The media may also include, alone or in combinationwith the program instructions, data files, data structures, and thelike. The program instructions recorded on the media may be thosespecially designed and constructed for the purposes of exampleembodiments, or they may be of the kind well-known and available tothose having skill in the computer software arts. Examples ofnon-transitory computer-readable media include magnetic media such ashard disks, floppy disks, and magnetic tape; optical media such asCD-ROM discs, DVDs, and/or Blue-ray discs; magneto-optical media such asoptical discs; and hardware devices that are specially configured tostore and perform program instructions, such as read-only memory (ROM),random access memory (RAM), flash memory (e.g., USB flash drives, memorycards, memory sticks, etc.), and the like. Examples of programinstructions include both machine code, such as produced by a compiler,and files containing higher level code that may be executed by thecomputer using an interpreter. The above-described devices may beconfigured to act as one or more software modules in order to performthe operations of the above-described example embodiments, or viceversa.

A number of example embodiments have been described above. Nevertheless,it should be understood that various modifications may be made to theseexample embodiments. For example, suitable results may be achieved ifthe described techniques are performed in a different order and/or ifcomponents in a described system, architecture, device, or circuit arecombined in a different manner and/or replaced or supplemented by othercomponents or their equivalents. Accordingly, other implementations arewithin the scope of the following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A support comprising: a supporting frame having a head end portion and a tail end portion; a connecting plate configured to connect to the tail end portion of the supporting frame, the connecting plate having a first end and a second end; a sliding plate configured to contact a rear face of the connecting plate via an elastic force; a supporting band connected to the first end and the second end of the connecting plate; and an elastic strip configured to generate the elastic force to connect the sliding plate and the rear face of the connecting plate, wherein the supporting frame is configured to move relative to the sliding plate along a first direction and a second direction intersecting the first direction.
 2. The support of claim 1, wherein the supporting band comprises: a first band including a first connector and a second connector, the first connector and the second connector each having a first end and a second end with a flexible material therebetween, the first end of the first connector connected to the first end of the connecting plate and the first end of the second connector connected to the second end of the connecting plate; and a second band having an adjustable length and configured to connect between the second end of the first connector and the second end of the second connector.
 3. The support of claim 2, wherein the first band and the connecting plate are configured to move relative to the sliding plate and the second band when the supporting frame moves.
 4. The support of claim 2, wherein the elastic strip is configured to provide a restoring force to draw the sliding plate toward the connecting plate when the supporting frame moves.
 5. The support of claim 2, wherein the supporting band further comprises: first rings each configured to connect the connecting plate to respective ones of the first connector and the second connector; and second rings each configured to connect the respective ones of the first connector and the second connector to the second band.
 6. The support of claim 2, wherein the connecting plate has an accepting groove therein, the accepting groove configured to accept the tail end portion of the supporting frame.
 7. The support of claim 6, wherein the sliding plate has a guide groove therein in a direction perpendicular to the supporting band, and the connecting plate has a protrusion thereon, the protrusion configured to slide into the guide groove.
 8. The support of claim 3, wherein the elastic strip is configured to pass through the connecting plate to connect the connecting plate and the sliding plate.
 9. The support of claim 1, further comprising: at least one shock absorbing pad attached to an inner side face of one of the sliding plate and the supporting band.
 10. A support comprising: a supporting frame; a supporting band having a looped shape and including at least one shock absorbing pad attached to an inner side face thereof; at least one movable wire running on an outer side face of the supporting band in a longitudinal direction of the supporting band; a connecting plate connected to the at least one movable wire, the connecting plate configured to connect to the supporting frame; a sliding plate configured to contact a rear face of the connecting plate via an elastic force; and an elastic strip configured to generate the elastic force to connect the sliding plate and the rear face of the connecting plate, wherein the supporting frame is configured to move relative to the sliding plate along a first direction and a second direction intersecting the first direction.
 11. The support of claim 10, further comprising: a tube on the outer side face of the supporting band, the tube configured to receive the at least one movable wire such that the at least one movable wire is configured to pass through and move within the tube.
 12. The support of claim 11, wherein the connecting plate is configured to move on the sliding plate in at least one of upward, downward, leftward, and rightward directions.
 13. The support of claim 12, wherein the connecting plate has a protrusion on the rear face thereof, and the sliding plate has an accepting groove on a front face thereof, the protrusion configured to slide into the accepting groove.
 14. A motion assistance apparatus comprising: a fixing device; a driver rotatably fixed to the fixing device; and a support configured to support a portion of a body of the user, and to rotate in response to a driving force from the driver, the support including, a supporting frame having a head end portion and a tail end portion, the head end portion connected to the driver, a supporting band connected to the tail end portion of the supporting frame, a sliding plate connected to an inner circumferential face of the supporting band via an elastic force, and an elastic strip configured to generate the elastic force to connect the sliding plate and the supporting band, wherein the supporting frame is configured to move relative to the sliding plate along a first direction and a second direction intersecting the first direction.
 15. The motion assistance apparatus of claim 14, wherein the supporting band comprises: a connecting plate having a front face and a rear face, the front face of the connecting plate configured to connect to the tail end portion of the supporting frame, and the rear face of the connecting plate configured to connect to the sliding plate; and a first band including a first connector and a second connector, the first connector and the second connector each having a first end and a second end with a flexible material therebetween, the first end of the first connector connected to the first end of the connecting plate and the first end of the second connector connected to the second end of the connecting plate.
 16. The motion assistance apparatus of claim 15, wherein, when the driver generates the driving force, the supporting frame is configured to move with respect to the sliding plate.
 17. The motion assistance apparatus of claim 16, wherein the elastic strip is configured to pass through the connecting plate to connect the connecting plate and the sliding plate.
 18. A support comprising: a supporting frame having a head end portion and a tail end portion; a connecting plate configured to connect to the tail end portion of the supporting frame, the connecting plate having a first end and a second end; a sliding plate configured to slide relative to the connecting plate; and an elastic strip configured to connect the connecting plate and the sliding plate, wherein the supporting frame is configured to move relative to the sliding plate along a first direction and a second direction intersecting the first direction.
 19. A motion assistance apparatus comprising: a fixing device; a driver rotatably fixed to the fixing device; and a support configured to support a portion of a body of the user, and to rotate in response to a driving force from the driver, the support including, a supporting frame having a head end portion and a tail end portion, the head end portion connected to the driver, a connecting plate configured to connect to the tail end portion of the supporting frame, the connecting plate having a first end and a second end, a sliding plate configured to slide relative to the connecting plate, and an elastic strip configured to connect the connecting plate and the sliding plate, wherein the supporting frame is configured to move relative to the sliding plate along a first direction and a second direction intersecting the first direction. 